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Can fear cause rabbits to pee themselves? U/D Poorly again!

smudgiebun

smudgiebun

Alpha Buck
Last night we heard Chewie stamp his foot really loud and he looked quite spooked. We thought there was probably something scary outside that humans can't see :lol:

So my bf went over to see them both to make sure they were ok, and he was stroking Smudge, and then he noticed that she'd peed on the floor! Only a little widdle, not a massive amount. I picked her up and checked her and she had a wet bottom, under tail and feet! We assumed it was because she was scared and just left her and weren't too worried at this stage.

Then this morning we had a BT engineer out and he had to do his work in their room due to the phone line being in there. There was a lot of beeping and funny noises and the rabbits looked a bit confused as to why they couldn't come out. My bf said Smudge looked a bit spooked with the noises, and I did actually witness her do a pee, but in the litter box which is normal.

When the BT guy left we let the bunnies out, and I picked Smudge up to check her bottom. It looked the same as last night - wet under tail, bottom and feet. It can't be last night's pee cos that would have dried up surely?!

Is it possible for rabbits to be so scared they pee themselves?? It's just a bit of a coincidence that she's been scared twice in a row. She's not showing any other signs of being ill!
 
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Hi :wave:
I would get smudge to the vets to be checked out, I used to have a bunnies that used to get urine infections. One time we left for work and when we got home there was wee all over and her bottom was wet. She was absolutely fine in her self, but still had the infection and we got her straight to the vet and they gave her some medicine which cleared it up pretty quickly.Rabbits are good at trying to hide any illnesses. I'm not sure if rabbits wee themselves if scared.
Hope it all goes ok :)
 
Yeah I think we probably will take her to the vets later today just for peace of mind.

I've just thought though - is there anything we should do to help her get clean, or just let her clean it herself??

EDIT:she has just pee'ed normally now hopped into the litter tray, lifted her tail and didn't appear to be in pain.
 
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smudgiebun said:
Yeah I think we probably will take her to the vets later today just for peace of mind.

I've just thought though - is there anything we should do to help her get clean, or just let her clean it herself??
Click to expand...

I don't know about the peeing but I would leave her, cleaning her up would just upset her more, if this is an unusual occurrence then being a bit damp won't hurt her, she'll clean herself off.
 
Yeah, she does look to have cleaned her tail a bit and her feet don't look wet any more.

One other thing we've noticed is that the water bottles are going down more, but we assumed it was to do with the heating being on. Also we've not seen Smudge drinking excessively, in fact we've only seen Chewie drink this morning.

I've cleaned them out this morning and there are now some normal golden poos in the tray but also a pile of darker poos... I don't really know what this could mean, or who has done them!

EDIT: she's cleaned herself up now yay!
 
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smudgiebun said:
Yeah, she does look to have cleaned her tail a bit and her feet don't look wet any more.

One other thing we've noticed is that the water bottles are going down more, but we assumed it was to do with the heating being on. Also we've not seen Smudge drinking excessively, in fact we've only seen Chewie drink this morning.

I've cleaned them out this morning and there are now some normal golden poos in the tray but also a pile of darker poos... I don't really know what this could mean, or who has done them!

EDIT: she's cleaned herself up now yay!
Click to expand...

That's good :D I know it can be difficult with two buns as to who is doing what and when!!
 
One of my girls peed herself a few months ago. I think it must have been fear/surprise caused by me coming out of the house suddenly. It only happened once and hasn't happened again so I think the answer is yes, it can happen. Of course bum checks every day are necessary to make sure it isn't happening more often.
 
Well we didn't take her to the vet yesterday because she seemed OK and we said to ourselves if she's dirty again in the morning she's DEFINITELY going to the vet because it is unlikely she will have been scared 3 times in a row!

So anyway she was wet again this morning :-( So off to the vet it is. I hope it's just an infection that can be treated quickly!
 
Buns definitely can wee through fear but in this instance I agree it's most likely to be a urinary infection or similar. The stomping of the foot may be entirely unrelated but I've certainly witnessed the partners of poorly buns becoming upset and frustrated by the other's illness. Well spotted though and fingers crossed all is better soon.
 
It's funny you mention that about Chewie stomping, bunniesgalore! Just a minute ago I said to my boyfriend "do you think Chewie might have been stamping to tell us that Smudge isn't well?" but we thought probably not. Now I am thinking maybe he was!
 
I've known a bun to stamp with "toilet frustration". It can be painful to pass fine sludge, (Also they may not be able to empty the blader properly) & also painful to pass infected wee - so they stamp.
Please let us know how you get on at the vets.
 
Just got back from the vets! He couldn't feel anything in her bladder, no sludge or stones or anything, and said it actually felt empty. He asked us about the pee she was doing and we said it just looks like normal pee, not sludgey or dark or anything.

Her weight was pretty much the same as last time (a few months ago) too. He said it is most likely cystitis so she's on Baytril and Metacam (the latter she really likes, the little weirdo!).

He did start talking about EC and I was thinking "oh god!" but he was just saying that incontinence can be an early symptom, but that other symptoms would obviously show up. Plus she is an indoor rabbit and hasn't been outside for probably a year now, so it's less likely that it's EC I think. Also I think the kidneys would be affected first?

I do feel bad now though because we gave up on giving them wormer a couple months ago. The vet prescribed it and we tried to give it them but they just would not have it so we gave up too easily.
 
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smudgiebun said:
Just got back from the vets! He couldn't feel anything in her bladder, no sludge or stones or anything, and said it actually felt empty. He asked us about the pee she was doing and we said it just looks like normal pee, not sludgey or dark or anything.

Her weight was pretty much the same as last time (a few months ago) too. He said it is most likely cystitis so she's on Baytril and Metacam (the latter she really likes, the little weirdo!).

He did start talking about EC and I was thinking "oh god!" but he was just saying that incontinence can be an early symptom, but that other symptoms would obviously show up. Plus she is an indoor rabbit and hasn't been outside for probably a year now, so it's less likely that it's EC I think. Also I think the kidneys would be affected first?

I do feel bad now though because we gave up on giving them wormer a couple months ago. The vet prescribed it and we tried to give it them but they just would not have it so we gave up too easily.[/QUOTE]

I think that your vet is on the right track there. Yes, most buns enjoy metacam. It smells disgusting to me.:shock:
Please don't blame yourself about the panacure. In fact there are more bunny friendly effective herbs for that.
Neither do I think she's got EC. I'd expect a more constant dribbling incontinence for that, & there's no reason whatsoever for her to stamp. Please let us know how she gets on.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks thumps! It was actually Chewie doing the stomping, so we thought he might be telling us that Smudge was poorly, but who knows!

Do you mean there are herbs to protect against worms instead of the drugs??

I'm a bit confused with worming to be honest! Last time they had something which was to last them the full year I think. But this time the vet just prescribed panacur I think. Also not sure about the difference between Lapizole and Panacur...!! Argh. I might have a look and see what they had last time.
 
smudgiebun said:
Thanks thumps! It was actually Chewie doing the stomping, so we thought he might be telling us that Smudge was poorly, but who knows!

Do you mean there are herbs to protect against worms instead of the drugs??

I'm a bit confused with worming to be honest! Last time they had something which was to last them the full year I think. But this time the vet just prescribed panacur I think. Also not sure about the difference between Lapizole and Panacur...!! Argh. I might have a look and see what they had last time.
Click to expand...

Yes, thyme is a gentle dewormer & needs to be fed regularly over a few weeks.
Blackthorn leaves are really fast, very dead pin worms come out the next day.:shock: Blackthorn is high in tannins but bunny safe in that wildies eat them ravenously! The tannins kill intestinal parasites, they protect against (not treat) coccydiosis, are great for controling dysbiosis & helping buns to start eating again after stasis.
The big problem is that we have to collect them ourselves, because they're only effective when gathered after the berries (Sloes) are fully ripe. It's only a small 8 week window between them becoming effective & leaf fall.:(
I'm sure there are other herbs which help too.

"When your rabbit needs special care" by Lucile Moore & Kathy Smith has a very small section on medicinal plants for buns. They advocate fresh or dried cranberries to prevent bladder infections (not treat them) I know of several RUers who do this.

Finally yes, it's very possible that Chewie stamped to ask you to do something for Smudge. The most dramatic stamping for help, followed by making an owner follow the bun to a shed, was to rescue the partner bun who'd got trapped in a plastic bag!:shock:
It's more than possible that we miss some of this "seeking help for another" behaviour because it seems impossible to us.
 
Some really interesting information here. Milly gets cystitis fairly often and a week of antibiotics with metacam works wonders. Hopefully all will be well soon and she'll feel much better. I'm sure you know to ensure she is as dry as possible. Urine really scalds so keep an eye out for any soreness. If there is a gentle bum bath and some sudacrem will protect her skin. Sorry if i'm teaching Granny to suck eggs! Milly likes metacam and my cats have also liked it too. Jacob bunny absolutely adored it. It smells quite sweet to me which would appeal to buns. If only all bunny meds were so readily and willingly accepted.
 
Thanks for the advice so far everyone!! Also that is interesting about the herbs as I didn't know about them, it does sound like they are hard to get hold of though!

As for Smudge, she's actually keeping herself quite clean from what we've seen so far, so that's good :D

She is SO fluffy underneath, and around her backside in general, that I can't even imagine urine getting to her skin to scald her (see signature for a sort-of example :lol:). Is it even possible for scalding to happen with overly-fluffy animals?
 
Poor Smudge went to the vet again today as this infection (or whatever it is that is wrong) has flared up again! :(

She was not a happy bun bun, but now has some more anti-biotics, some pills which we sprinkle over her food, and an appointment on Tuesday for an x-ray, just to check there's no sludge.

Apart from that she is still her usual happy and naughty self, binkying around and trying to open Christmas presents, begging for food, etc... :lol:
 
X-ray done, no sludge! Yay! :D So she's just completing the course of baytril and cystaid now. Poor buns did not like their little adventure, they were SO happy to be home! :love:
 
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